I'll be honest, I didn't feel like going out into the convention on the final day until we had everything cleared out of the room. And that's what we spent the majority of the morning doing - packing, cleaning, and ensuring that we had everything that we brought or bought.
One of the last shots of our view from the 9th floor
"HELLO CHIKA" -Ryan
Attempt #37 at trying to be kawaii
At some point I called for a bellhop since we had so much stuff to bring down but as I kept calling and calling the wait time seemed to get longer and longer, and then I made the decision to "haul some" and just carry everything with us downstairs to the car. And through the quick hauling that we did, I forgot the two cosplay jackets that were hanging from the closet in a garment bag. I thought that my precious cosplays were lost forever especially when I didn't realize it until I woke up in the morning a week later and thought "I FORGOT MY COSPLAY AT THE HOTEL." Luckily the Loss Prevention team at the San Jose Marriott was able to work with me and while I was at SacAnime Summer I got a call saying that they found the cosplay and were wanting to send it back to me free of charge. Now that's what I call customer service and reason why I keep coming back to the Marriott every single FanimeCon.
A send off by the suite next door
However, the one caveat that I don't like is the valet parking on the final day because once you pull the car out after check-out you can't stash the car back until the end of the convention, compared to SacAnime where I can park the car until 6pm (granted that's self-parking versus valet parking). So Ryan and I get into the packed car and find a place to park until we find the same parking garage that I parked in last year for Miku Expo and because it was Memorial Day parking was FREE.
West San Carlos looking west towards the convention center
After walking back to the convention center we do the usual rounds of seeing everything one last time, from Dealer's Hall to friends and acquaintances.
Gunpla that I picked up for a family member
One of the last views of the convention center lobby
At the Marriott lobby, the crew gets together one last time to debrief, answer and questions or concerns, and to take the last few photos of the convention.
The FanimeCon 2019 crew of Ryan, Ray, Nate, and Matthew
We decided to leave early since we were all tired and had a drive ahead of us. We first drop off Ray back in Santa Clara before making the next leg to drop off Tom in San Rafael. However, we really didn't want to spend money on tolls on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and wanted to enjoy the drive home, so we went back up the 101 through San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Approaching Downtown San Francisco from the 101/80 interchange [Photo Credit: Ryan Silva]
Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge [Photo Credit: Ryan Silva]
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge [Photo Credit: Ryan Silva]
Eventually we arrive at Tom's house to rest up and munch on the food left over from the hotel room. After saying good-bye, we head up through the 37 back to the 80 as we make the final leg of the trip back to Sacramento.
On the outskirts of home, we stop by Raku Sushi to have one last decent meal before parting ways the next day and going back to what we were eating normally. At this point both of us were tired but not tired enough to watch Jeopardy! on the TV in front of us to see James Holzhauer continue his legendary run.
Ryan departs the day after on Tuesday, and I find myself back at work on Wednesday as FanimeCon 2019 comes to a close.
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